Official Press Release

VANCOUVER ISLAND COMMUNITY FILES CIVIL SUIT AGAINST EXCLUSIVE RACE TRACK

JUNE 8, 2017-- DUNCAN, BC

A Cowichan Valley neighbourhood group has had enough of intrusive and excessive noise from the Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit (VIMC) and has filed a Notice of Civil Claim with the BC Supreme Court. The claim alleges that VIMC is creating substantial and unreasonable noise that violates provincial nuisance laws.

The Sahtlam Neighbourhood Association (SNA) has spent months seeking action from VIMC and the Municipality of North Cowichan to address the noise issues caused by VIMC, which opened in April 2016. The private motorsport facility was approved and constructed without public consultation and no requirements for noise mitigation. VIMC has publicly stated that it plans to expand operations, and residents want action before the situation gets worse.

Area residents say that the sound of race cars speeding around the track can be heard most days of the week, often for hours at a time, and has negatively impacted their quality of life and their property values. “Our lives have been turned upside down since the VIMC track opened a year ago” states local ER physician and SNA president Isabel Rimmer. “We have shift workers in our community, including first responders, who have difficulty sleeping because of race track noise. The peace and quiet of our rural neighbourhood has been destroyed by the activities of an elite few - they come here and make noise, and then they go home to their quiet neighbourhoods elsewhere.”

The Notice of Civil Claim also alleges that errors were made by the Municipality of North Cowichan that resulted in the track being approved and constructed in an area that is not appropriately zoned for such use. The SNA presented this information at a Committee of the Whole Meeting on March 23, 2017 but the Municipality has since refused to comment on the matter. The SNA is asking the court to determine whether the zoning is appropriate, and they are seeking injunctive relief in the form of a court order that would prevent VIMC from using the facilities for such activities.